Las Vegas & Phoenix
Went out to Las Vegas for an overnight visit to SEMA. Typically in Las Vegas the first week of November, I was able to attend the event and came on the last day. Done with getting my qualifying flights on United, I opted to use points on my American Airlines account. I was also about to lose the points and the points used was very low.
I haven't flow on American for awhile and was pleasantly surprised the plane was more comfortable than I recall. The LAX terminal is still pretty cramped and I still don't like how the security lines are organized. Luckily, I have Clear membership through United and was able to get through security quickly. My TSA Precheck didn't kick through because I forgot that I had modified my middle name and my AA name didn't match exactly to my Global Entry name. It did make me update my name information to all carriers so that I can get the TSA Precheck at any time.
Got into Las Vegas with little issue and checked into the Sahara hotel. I knew that the Sahara had converted back from SLS but didn't realize it required a remodel. I thought the SLS was nice enough but it appears that the new owners wanted to put their own mark. Hopefully, the construction ends soon. On the bright side, being at the Sahara is really convenient to the Convention Center. One monorail stop away, most attendees are coming from the other direction and it tends to get super packed because they are not staying at the Sahara.
After checking out all the cool stuff happening at SEMA, I jumped on a Southwest flight to Phoenix. Checked into the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa. I discovered during my stay that the hotel is pet friendly and all the rooms are villas. This is nice to know if I should consider coming back with my pets. The rooms are pretty big and the suites makes it easy for me to have my two furbabies.
I met up with friends to attend the USC versus ASU football game. The stadium still serves alcohol. Somehow, the college students don't have access to beer but the non-college students are able to drink. It doesn't make much sense to me but I'm going with the flow.
For breakfast, the breakfast buffet is very satisfying inside Rita's Cantina & Bar. They also served doughnuts that were totally addicting. So addicting, I made a breakfast snack break before going to Richardson's with friends for brunch on the next day. I enjoyed my carne adovado and split the breakfast sandwich with the table.
Since I had an evening flight, spent the afternoon at the pool bar and then, after checkout, the cantina in the hotel. Overall, I enjoyed the afternoon spent at the hotel. I don't think the pool was as nice as it could have been but it was good enough for my purposes. At the cantina, I tried the "Marriott" cheesecake. I didn't know that it was a thing but I did really enjoy the cheesecake. I also learned that the Marriott founder went to this location often as well as some Hollywood elite back in the 50s and 60s. I guess that's how Phoenix's tourism started....
I haven't flow on American for awhile and was pleasantly surprised the plane was more comfortable than I recall. The LAX terminal is still pretty cramped and I still don't like how the security lines are organized. Luckily, I have Clear membership through United and was able to get through security quickly. My TSA Precheck didn't kick through because I forgot that I had modified my middle name and my AA name didn't match exactly to my Global Entry name. It did make me update my name information to all carriers so that I can get the TSA Precheck at any time.
Got into Las Vegas with little issue and checked into the Sahara hotel. I knew that the Sahara had converted back from SLS but didn't realize it required a remodel. I thought the SLS was nice enough but it appears that the new owners wanted to put their own mark. Hopefully, the construction ends soon. On the bright side, being at the Sahara is really convenient to the Convention Center. One monorail stop away, most attendees are coming from the other direction and it tends to get super packed because they are not staying at the Sahara.
After checking out all the cool stuff happening at SEMA, I jumped on a Southwest flight to Phoenix. Checked into the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa. I discovered during my stay that the hotel is pet friendly and all the rooms are villas. This is nice to know if I should consider coming back with my pets. The rooms are pretty big and the suites makes it easy for me to have my two furbabies.
I met up with friends to attend the USC versus ASU football game. The stadium still serves alcohol. Somehow, the college students don't have access to beer but the non-college students are able to drink. It doesn't make much sense to me but I'm going with the flow.
For breakfast, the breakfast buffet is very satisfying inside Rita's Cantina & Bar. They also served doughnuts that were totally addicting. So addicting, I made a breakfast snack break before going to Richardson's with friends for brunch on the next day. I enjoyed my carne adovado and split the breakfast sandwich with the table.
Since I had an evening flight, spent the afternoon at the pool bar and then, after checkout, the cantina in the hotel. Overall, I enjoyed the afternoon spent at the hotel. I don't think the pool was as nice as it could have been but it was good enough for my purposes. At the cantina, I tried the "Marriott" cheesecake. I didn't know that it was a thing but I did really enjoy the cheesecake. I also learned that the Marriott founder went to this location often as well as some Hollywood elite back in the 50s and 60s. I guess that's how Phoenix's tourism started....
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